Art Blogging Contest

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Bartok Peasant Dance

The piece is in ternary form starting in g minor/major. The A section lasts from the beginning to the poco piu mosso after the 3/4 bar. The melody begins in bar 5 in the right hand accompanied by the left hand with block chords. The melody is broken up into a parallel period with an extra period on the end that develops the theme a bit. Then, after that phrase, a transition phrase i splayed to lead us up to the A section. Some structural phenomena of note would be the crescendo and use of repetition in the right hand just before the B section, the use of the 3/4 bar, the sf's, and the grace notes. The B section begins at the piu mosso and goes to the meno mosso. The B section is an alternation of 8th notes between the hands, slurred, and at a softer dynamic. The use of accents and syncopations are effective. The hands finally come together and get louder and louder. Another 3/4 bar pops up and the dynamic is raised along with having a ritardando. This leads into a 5 bar transition phrase back into the A section, pointing out that were back in G. The A section begins at the meno mosso but the rhythm of the melody has changed, as well as the mood and the texture. It is less heavy and more light. The melody uses 16th notes and 8th notes vs quarter notes and 8th notes. Then both hands go crazy playing runs of 16th notes together, providing a transition to the cadential material. A coda/tag is added on to the last 6 bars. Both hands are in unison rhythm and specific articulations add character. It ends on a g major chord, however, it sounds like a half cadence, perhaps leading to the next piece in the volume.